Planning Commission Hosts Study on 'New Neighborhood' Proposal

Editor's note: Due to a lack of proper noticing, this meeting was held as a community meeting rather than a planning commission workshop.

A study session is scheduled tonight on plans to build a transit-oriented community in west Newark.

The Planning Commission Study Session on the Dumbarton Transit-Oriented Development, or Dumbarton TOD, will begin at 7 p.m. at council chambers in .

Proposed is the construction of a 200-acre walkable community that would include 150 acres of land allocated for 2,500 residential units.

The rest of the land would be divided among commercial and retail businesses, a proposed transit station, parks and open space, and miscellaneous use.

The cost of project is unknown but would be the responsibility of the private developer, according to Terrence Grindall, community development director.

From May through July, city officials collected comments from the community based on the project’s environment impact report. Those comments have been included in the project’s Final Environmental Impact Report (see link below).

Comments from agencies and individuals were based on a variety of factors, including the project’s impact on the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, traffic-related effects — on both on roadways and railways — and impacts on human health, water quality, the disturbance of soil and groundwater pollution.

City council members last received an update on the Dumbarton TOD proposal on April 28, when they reviewed a Specific Plan that was drafted by the Pleasanton-based Dahlin Group, Architecture-Planning.

Dahlin designed the 225-acre Rivermark neighborhood in nearby Santa Clara, according to the company's website.

Public hearings were scheduled for the planning commission and city council on July 29 and Aug. 3, respectively. Those public hearings are canceled and will be rescheduled to a future date, according to a notice displayed at the city administration building.

To read the project’s Final Environmental Impact Report, click here. To read the project’s Specific Plan, click here.